Citizenship

Italian citizenship is based on the principle of descent, whereby the child born of an Italian father and/or mother is an Italian citizen.

Italian citizenship is acquired automatically in the following cases:

• filiation “jure sanguinis”, whereby a child born of an Italian father or mother is an Italian citizen wherever the birth takes place;

• birth on Italian territory “jure soli”, if the parents are unknown or stateless, or if the foreign parents do not transmit their nationality to the child according to the law of their own State, or if the child has been found abandoned on Italian territory;

• acknowledgement of paternity or maternity by an Italian national or citizen or following a judicial declaration of filiation of a minor;

• adoption, by an Italian citizen or national, of a minor.

Italian nationality is acquired following a declaration of intent made before the Civil Registrar and the verification of all legal requirements in the event of:

• an adult of legal age recognised by an Italian citizen;

• a foreign national or stateless person with Italian ancestry;

• a foreign national born in Italy;

• a foreign national who was an Italian citizen at birth and intends to reacquire their Italian citizenship after losing it.

Italian citizenship is acquired by naturalisation and the recognition of Italian citizenship, upon request, in the following cases:

• residency: a foreign national who has been resident in the territory of the Italian Republic for more than 10 years;

• marriage: a foreign national who has married an Italian citizen;

• honorary: a foreign national who has rendered important services to Italy, or when the State holds an exceptional interest;

• in the case of foreign nationals of Italian descent: if the uninterrupted possession of Italian citizenship is recognised to the descendants of Italian emigrants following verification of the permanence of the subjective right relating to Italian citizenship. 

For whom is the service intended?

Foreign nationals resident in the Municipality of Venice if:

• a foreign national descendant from an Italian ancestor;

• a foreign national of legal age recognised by an Italian parent;

• a foreign national born and raised in Italy.

What to do

• make an appointment, from Monday to Thursday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., by contacting the relevant Civil Registry Office at the following numbers:

Residents of historic centre and islands of Venice

VENICE - Historic Centre and Islands +39 041.2748327

Residents of Mestre and mainland

MESTRE - Mainland +39 041.2746612

In the case of citizenship by naturalisation, for the purposes of the sworn declaration the applicant must present the following to the Civil Registrar

• the citizenship decree;

• the Acknowledgement of Receipt.

As of 1 February 2024, the notification of decrees for the acquisition/granting of Italian citizenship pursuant to Articles 5 and 9 of Law 91/1992 will take place exclusively through the Pago PA Digital Notification Platform.

The Citizenship Office of the Prefettura sends the decree to the platform which manages the notification process. (see notification methods) 

• turn up on the appointed day with a suitable identity document (passport).

How much does it cost?

Government contribution of €250.00 payable to postal current account no. 809020:

made out to: Ministero dell’Interno D.L.C.I. - Cittadinanza

Reference: cittadinanza – contributo di cui all’Art. 1, comma 12, Legge 15.7.2009 n. 94

Quality standards

Time interval from application to acquisition of citizenship <= 120 days.

This page is part of the:

 click on the image for the Service Charter - WebCarta

For information on the processing of personal data, please visit the dedicated page: "Information on the processing of personal data"

For reports, complaints and enquiries, the DIME digital helpdesk is available under: "Reports"
 
Updated by the Civil Registry Service.

Last updated: 10/06/2024 at 14.22